Allowing pets in airplane cabin
It is reported that, similar to Air India, from November 2022, Akasa Air will allow passengers to carry their pet cats and dogs in cages in the airplane’s cabin. The weight of the pet and cage will be limited to 7 kg. Perhaps this is good news for animal lovers but the airlines need to consider the comforts of the other passengers.
Will the cage be kept in the aisle, on lap of the pet parent, in the luggage rack or below the seat? Most importantly, what if some passengers (especially kids or infants) fall sick being allergic to cats and dogs?
It is discriminatory to permit only cats and dogs in the cabin, when people may have birds or small animals as pets. One fails to understand as to why pet parents would be obsessed to have the pets with them by disregarding safety rules and discomfort of their co-travellers.
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation should forthwith stop the airlines from permitting pets in cabin and mandate them to be kept in the cargo section.
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
Widespread awareness
on cybercrime needed
It is learnt that the Goa police have reportedly chosen teachers as ambassadors to spread cybercrime awareness among students as it aims to curb rising online fraud and identity theft. This is being done as part of ‘Cyber Jagrookta Divas’. It must be said that financial cybercrime has become a very serious issue. The ill effects of cybercrimes often lead to extreme financial ruin and reputation loss to both businesses and individuals.
With 5G set to connect different types of gadgets, there is a strong possibility of cybercrime increasing further. Creating awareness among the students will lead to creating awareness among their parents and the elders in the house. But this may not be sufficient. Banks too need to spread awareness about the various modes of crimes adopted by the cybercriminals to relieve the citizens of their money. Banks can send SMS messages to all its customers on how to prevent falling prey to cybercriminals. The police too need to spread awareness about cybercrimes among the citizens.
It would be prudent for the law enforcing agency to come out with an advisory on the ‘dos and don’ts’ in order to stay safe from cybercriminals. Government departments and private companies also need to organise awareness programmes on cybercrimes. Cyber security awareness helps educate the employees about malicious methods used by cybercriminals, how they can be easy targets, how to spot potential threats and what they can do to avoid falling victim to these insidious threats.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Chinese loan apps duping Indians
Chinese loan apps are duping lakhs of Indians through its conspiracy of the debt trap. Multiple investigating agencies has revealed that over hundreds of Chinese-controlled apps, including those involved in loan services and betting, siphoned off crores of rupees from India. And this has been remained undetected by agency.
This has led to a crackdown on hundreds of Chinese-controlled mobile apps related to loans, dating and betting in India. Most of these apps are controlled from China. Chinese mobile phones clandestinely steal user’s information use that data for dirty works. These apps were also involved in extortion and harassment of the public. The incompetence of the central government and agencies has led to multiple cases of suicides due to such debt traps.
Certain Chinese apps were banned in 2020 but the action on such apps has been lacklustre. There has been no strategy, no focus by the central government in evaluating priorities. Public should beware of such Chinese lending apps.
K G Vilop, Chorao
High expectations from Messi
Lionel Messi has announced that the upcoming Qatar World Cup would be the last of his career. Like his famous countryman, the late Diego Maradona, Messi is considered God’s gift to football. He has regaled his fans with years of pristine football ever since he debuted in 2005. Though short statured like Maradona, the Argentine’s upper body strength and quicksilver reflexes are a treat for the eyes. The football world wants more of those sublime free kicks and super ball control when the World Cup kicks off on November 22.
Messi, frustrated at not winning a major cup for Argentina, was a happy man after his team lifted last year’s Copa America cup. However, an elusive world cup means the Argentine skipper would go the whole hog when his nation springs into action at Qatar. The worth of a player is judged by the way he has inspired his teammates, taken his country through turbulent times and caught the imagination of an entire generation. Messi scores on each of the above, and if his teammates could combine as a unit to help Argentina lift the trophy at Qatar, it would be a great tribute to an extraordinary footballer.
Though great players do not always go on a high, players like Messi should know that he will be remembered more for his skills and versatility than the goals he has scored or for being part of a winning team. One thing is for sure: with164 caps for his nation, and more to come, the football artist would be egged on by a boisterous crowd that would go into a frenzy every time the 34-year-old takes the field at Qatar.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Nobel Prize winner for literature
French author Annie Ernaux, who won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature, is well known for blending fiction and autobiography that fearlessly mine her experiences as a working class woman to explore life in France since the 1940s. (“Annie Ernaux awarded Nobel Prize in literature”, Oct. 7). Her works are lauded for their blistering honesty. Globally, Ernaux is best known for her work The Years, a creative memoir which documents her own life, and which was nominated for the prestigious Man Booker International Prize in 2019. The Swedish Academy, which is responsible for choosing the Nobel Prize laureates in literature, has said that Ernaux was recognized for “the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.”
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Thai mass shooting
is schocking
The horrific Thailand mass shooting in which 37 people, including 23 children, perished has shocked the international community. Following the attack, gunman Panya Khamrab went home and killed his wife and child before taking his own life.
The episode also injured ten, with six battling for their lives. We believe the killer identified as a former cop, was under the influence of drugs. The attack is one of the kingdom’s deadliest mass killings and shows that people prone to vices can go bonkers.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Releasing filth on beaches
Many restaurants on the Goa Coast/Beaches have made “special provisions/piping” to discharge their sewage directly into the Sea.
If I was a tourist visiting Goa, I would be extremely disgusted with spending time on the beach or swimming in the adjacent sea; if I was to know such filth was dumped in the proximity.
The Goa Government is marketing in foreign countries that it wants high end tourism; can such things help attract the same? Are there no Govt Departments to keep a check and punish culprits?
Arwin Mesquita, Colva
